To Prevent Youth from Dropping out of School:
By combining these tools and strategies, you can create a more comprehensive approach to preventing dropouts and promoting a positive and engaging educational experience for at-risk youth.
]]>Three Anger Management Strategies
Overall, teaching anger management techniques to at-risk youth provides them with essential life skills that contribute to emotional well-being, healthier relationships and positive overall development. ARISE has Life Skills curriculum that can help the at-risk youth manage their anger.
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SEL (Social Emotional Learning) encompasses a range of life skills crucial for navigating life’s complexities. Of course, these at-risk youth need academics, but they need life skills that go beyond academics.
What life skills encompass Social and Emotional Learning:
ARISE offers evidenced-based life skills that last a lifetime.
]]>The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental health crisis. According to the CDC, from 2009-2021, the share of American high school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent. This is the highest record of teenage sadness ever recorded.
The reasons behind sadness in at-risk teens can be complex and multifaceted, as everyone’s circumstances and experiences are unique. However, there are several common factors that may contribute to the sadness of at-risk teens:
How you can Support At-Risk Teens Who Are Experiencing Sadness
ARISE offers life skills for at-risk teens: ARISE Life Skills Program for High School Students (41 Books, plus plus plus)
]]>Life skills lessons for at-risk youth are essential for equipping them with the knowledge and abilities they need to navigate challenges, make positive choices, and build a better future. At-risk youth may face various difficulties, such as poverty, family issues, substance abuse, or involvement in the juvenile justice system. Here are some important life skills lessons tailored for this demographic:
1. Communication Skills:
3. Decision-Making Skills:
4. Financial Literacy:
5. Job Readiness and Career Planning:
6. Time Management:
7. Healthy Relationships:
8. Substance Abuse Prevention:
9. Self-Care and Wellbeing:
10. Goal Setting and Planning:
11. Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving:
These life skills lessons should be delivered in a supportive, non-judgmental, and interactive manner. Engaging activities, group discussions, and real-life examples can make the lessons more relatable and effective.
ARISE offers interactive lessons that engage youth in group discussions. You can view the lessons at the following links below:
ARISE also offers online life skills training for staff to help them present the lessons in a supportive, non-judgmental and interactive manner.
Managing the behavior of difficult populations of youth can be challenging but is essential for their well-being and their development. Difficult populations can encompass a range of issues, including delinquency, behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and more. Here are some strategies and considerations for effectively managing the behaviors of at-risk youth and improving their life-skills.
Active listening is therapeutic. It is the most effective form of conflict resolution. Many things can create conflict, but what sustains it is the feeling on the part of at least one of the parties that they have not been heard. They have not been listened to. We have not “heard their pain”. There has been a failure of empathy. That is why the use of force to resolve conflict is so profoundly self-defeating.
Improving at-risk teens’ mental health through active listening is a valuable and impactful approach. Here are some tips on how to effectively use listening as a tool to support teens’ mental well-being.
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ARISE has a wonderful resource for those who want to learn to listen to the youth they work with. You can use the material yourself or you can train other adults in your organization as good listeners. You can set up a listening program at the facility where you work or with your own family at home.
LEARN THE IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL OF LISTENING
Share this Listening message with your family:
ARISE Positivity Card #58
At-risk youth, particularly those facing metal health challenges, require special attention and support to address their unique needs. Here are some common mental health challenges faced by at-risk youth and potential strategies for addressing them:
Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that involves various stakeholders, including families, schools, community organizations, and healthcare providers.
ARISE offers life skills curriculum to improve the mental health of teens. These life skills lessons are not therapy but provide staff and youth with an opportunity for open discussions on these mental health challenges.
]]>When you buy a new car, you get a manual that tells you about all the parts and how to take care of the car. However, no one receives a manual like this when you are born.
Utilize ARISE Homosapiens Parts Operations and Maintenance Manual as part of the life skills lessons you teach the youth in your charge.
]]>As the at-risk youth get older, they need to start making their own decisions about how to be healthy. They need to know the following information:
Did You Know?
About 20% of kids between 12 and 19 years old are obese.
Most teens do not know:
Studies indicate that the following five factors make the biggest difference in overall health and wellness of teens.
Help Youth Answer the Following Questions and Many More:
Provide the Youth with a Manual for Healthy Living
When you buy a new car, you get a manual that tells you about all the parts and how to take care of the car. However, no one receives a manual like this when you are born.
Utilize ARISE Homosapiens Parts Operations and Maintenance Manual as part of the life skills lessons you teach the youth in your charge.
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If youth are encountering gangs in school or in the community, they need opportunities to talk about these issues with adults.
]]>According to the U.S. Department of Justice “there are more than 24,500 different youth gangs around the country, with more than 772,500 teenage and young adult members. A gang is defined as a group of people who engage in joint violent, illegal, or criminal activity. Teenagers join gangs for excitement and a sense of belonging.”
If youth are encountering gangs in school or in the community, they need opportunities to talk about these issues with adults.
Warning signs of gang affiliation
Consequences of gang involvement
Gang involved youth are more likely to be victims of violence and more likely to commit crimes, that lead to higher rates of arrest and incarceration. Youth gang involvement leads to failing to graduate high school, becoming a teen parent and being unemployed.
Make sure the youth understand the following:
Solutions to prevent at-risk youth from joining gangs:
ARISE offers a library of life skills to help reduce the risk factors leading to gang membership. View the ARISE Youth Gang Prevention Program. This program contains life skills lessons for middle and high school aged youth at risk. It can be used with at-risk youth in schools, community-based organizations, detention, juvenile justice secure facilities, probation, group homes, mental health facilities etc.
]]>The CDC “defines bullying as unwanted aggressive behaviors by another youth or group of youths, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm. Bullying can also occur through technology, which is called cyberbullying.” According to the CDC about 1 in 5 high school students reported being bullied on school property. More than 1 in 6 high school students reported being bullied electronically last year. The CDC also indicated that Nearly 14% of public schools report that bullying is a discipline problem occurring daily or at least once a week. Reports of bullying are highest in the middle schools (28%) followed by high school (16%) and elementary schools (12%). Reports of cyber bulling are highest in the middle schools (33%) (Followed by high school at 30% and elementary schools at 5%.)
Consequences of Bullying
According to the CDC “Bullying can result in physical injury, social and emotional distress, self-harm, and even death. It also increases the risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school. Youth who bully others are at increased risk for substance misuse, academic problems, and experiencing violence later in adolescence and adulthood. Youth who bully others and are bullied themselves suffer the most serious consequences and are at greater risk for mental health and behavioral problems.”
Warning signs that a Youth May Be Involved in Cyberbullying
People bully because it can be an effective way of getting what they want and because they lack the life skills to do so without harming others. Youth are not born bullies; they are made, and it starts at an early age.
Free Digital Book: The Bully Book
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What are Emotional Triggers?
Emotional triggers can be memories, people, or objects that bring out intense negative emotions. It can affect anyone at any time. For example, some people may be triggered by getting into an elevator because of a fear of heights. Some people may be afraid of public speaking and will get upset if called upon to make a presentation. Some youth you work with may be afraid if someone puts their hand on their shoulder because they have been abused.
I am sure you are familiar with the following symptoms when your emotions are being triggered:
Triggers come from anxiety, trauma or anger.
Steps to Deal with Emotional Triggers
These suggestions may help you if you are dealing with emotional triggers and they will help the at-risk youth you work with.
If the youth are unable to do this after trying on many different emotions they have over time, maybe a professional mental health counselor should intervene.
Common Situations that Trigger Intense Emotions in At-Risk Youth
How to Build Positive Emotions
In working with at-risk youth, building positive emotions is very important. Help the youth notice and focus on something good in their life. – even little things. Noticing good things when one feels bad can help you shift from negative to positive. ARISE has a Life Skills curriculum that can help the youth build positive feelings about themselves.
Four Wheel Drive for the Mind: Self-Esteem (Book 1) - Instructor's Manual
]]>Children look to their fathers to lay down the rules and enforce them. They also look to their fathers to provide a feeling of security, both physical and emotional. An involved father promotes healthy development in his children.
Research suggests that positive time spent with their fathers can reduce the likelihood of boys becoming anxious, depressed, or aggressive.
According to Psychology Today, research on thousands of fathers and sons, men who break the law are far more likely to have fathers who also broke the law. For sons of law-abiding fathers, only 4 % were found to be convicted of more than one delinquent act. In contrast, for sons of law-breaking Fathers, about 40 % committed more than one delinquent act.
How to Foster a Healthy Father-Son Relationship
Love his mother: This teaches him how to treat his mom, his sisters, and all woman he will meet. Treat his mother with respect.
He needs to see you fail not just succeed: If he sees you handle failure, he learns it is okay to make a mistake.
Show him that you are the leader of the family: He needs you to serve your family well and he will become a good leader.
Be present in his life: Be there in his education, social life, and all areas of his life.
Love him unconditionally: No matter what choices he makes, and even if they are wrong, love and guidance will build his self-esteem.
Affirm what he does: Say, “I know you can do it, that was a good play, you are really trying”. Your son needs encouragement.
Set boundaries and expectations: Discipline him in love. This will teach him to think and evaluate the choices he makes now and in the future.
A study in Developmental Psychology suggests that a strong father-son bond forged during childhood may help men deal with everyday stress in later life.
Positive Parenting behaviors and tactics are protective factors for kids. Positive parenting factors must be taught to at-risk high school aged youth who may be or are thinking about being a parent. Did you know that dad’s frequency of kissing and hugging his son at two years old was one of the factors that positively predicted a son’s reading and math scores? (Psychology Today)
The benefits of participating in a parenting program for teen boys can help them form positive father- son relationships. Becoming a teen parent makes life more difficult. Teen parents can raise a happy, healthy and successful child, but it takes education and work. They need to learn the responsibilities of being a parent including providing a safe environment, making sure basic needs are met, enhancing the child’s self-esteem, providing appropriate discipline, and being involved int the child’s education. Our high school life skills curriculum Fatherhood addresses teen parenting for boys.
ARISE believes that boys and girls need to learn parenting skills. So, if you work with girls, our high school life skills curriculum Sprouts addresses teen parenting for girls.
]]>Life is complicated. We are forced to navigate the world of work and of our home life. We need to bring our whole selves to work by dropping the stress, worry, anxiety, and guilt at the door. When we leave to go home, we need to bring our positive selves home and leave the stress, worry, fears, and anxiety collected from dealing with the day’s events at the door. This is a tough challenge for everyone. We all need to improve our mental health. We need ARISE life skills for adults.
Discover how to combat anger and avoid burnout due to dealing with negative situations you may not have control of.
Mental health alert!
Negative Effects of Stress
The Impact of Anger
Uncontrolled anger can damage relationships and cause problems at work. The stress hormone associated with anger can cause negative changes in the brain and weaken our immune system. Some people are aware of their anger, while others fail to recognize it. Anger can be a symptom of a mental health condition like depression. Some signs that you or someone else may have anger issues:
Drop anger, stress and frustration at the door, view:
ARISE Drop it at the Door Anger and Stress Management Staff Training Online.
Over three decades ARISE has identified and developed proven effective action steps for releasing hidden potential and promoting positive life skills strategies, and memorable educational experiences that improve work and home lives.
]]>Recent studies are showing that gratitude is beneficial in children and young adolescents. Grateful adolescents are happier and more optimistic and satisfied with their lives and more engaged in school.
]]>Research has shown that gratitude plays a big role in an adult’s wellbeing and success.
Recent studies are showing that gratitude is beneficial in children and young adolescents. Grateful adolescents are happier and more optimistic and satisfied with their lives and more engaged in school.
According to Psychology Today, “Studies on gratitude prove its positive impact on many levels. A study suggests that grateful adolescents are happier, more optimistic, have better social support, are more satisfied with their school, community, friends, and themselves, and give emotional support to others”.
Gratitude is a life skill that must be taught. Parents and caregivers are the first line of defense in teaching gratitude. ARISE Foundation publishes for those working with at risk youth a comprehensive life skills course curriculum - Family Tools Program that facilities, schools, community-based organizations, mental health services, etc., could use which will in part focus on gratitude.
Benefits of Gratitude
How Gratitude Changes the Brain
What researchers found was "that gratitude causes synchronized activation in multiple brain regions and lights up parts of the brain's reward pathways and the hypothalamus. In short, gratitude can boost neurotransmitter serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine. Dopamine is our brain's pleasure chemical.
Gratitude is an Important Life Skill that is Learned
Small ways that teachers, caseworkers, juvenile officers, parents, counselors, religious leaders, detention workers, foster care specialists or anyone working with at-risky youth can foster gratitude.
Activities that Encourage Ways to Practice Gratitude
Middle school is a time of immense growth and development and at the same time emotional turmoil in which there are peer conflicts, conflict with adults and conflicts with themselves. Here are strategies to share to help middle school at risk youth develop conflict resolution skills.
Listening : We have two ears and one mouth. You listen to hear and gain understanding. |
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Conflict is normal and can escalate: We all have our own thoughts, cultures and ideas which may be different from other peoples. This may cause conflicts and it is important to learn ways that will escalate conflict making it destructive and ways to reduce conflict making it constructive. |
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Stop and Breathe to calm down: When one is in a conflict, the brain is controlled by the amygdala, the brain’s safety alarm system. Youth need to learn to calm down and be distanced from the conflict before responding. Taking deep breaths can calm down. |
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Anger is a secondary emotion: When they learn the emotion underlying the conflict, they are more able to respond constructively. For example, frustration or feelings of being disrespected can create anger and then conflict. |
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Think about the conflict situation that occurred: Ask questions about the conflict, your reactions to it and how it could have been different resulting in different results. |
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Build positive nonverbal language skills: People hear what we say, but also see our nonverbal gestures. Your body language gives a lot of meaning to what you are saying. This misinterpretation can cause conflict. |
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Using “I“ instead of “You” : Doing that avoids the blame game. By saying: I feel disrespected when you say or do …and I would appreciate it if you would… deescalates the situation. You are not blaming. Blaming causes the other person to come back and defend and the conflict escalates. |
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Learn to Question: Asking questions that clarify the conflict, so it is easier to understand. You learn the others’ point of view. If you don’t understand what the person is saying, this can result in the conflict not being resolved well. |
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Journaling Let the youth write about it: Writing makes things clearer. Doing this makes things more easily understood and you get it off your mind. Doing this can calm a person. |
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Set your own boundaries: We all have anger buttons. You need to tell people what ticks you off and ask someone not to do that. It is ok to tell people your boundaries in a calm manner. This is not rude. |
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You don’t like everyone, and everyone does not have to like you: You pick your friends because they are like you. Others may not be like you, but they deserve respect. Conflict is about the circumstances occurring and not the individual. |
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You can only control yourself: Teens often seek unhealthy ways to gain control in situations and feelings. Teach teens that the only thing they can control is themselves. |
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Dealing with conflict: - Four things to work out (a. what is the conflict, b. brainstorm solutions, c. evaluate each solution, d. choose the solution that is a win-win situation for both). |
To View ARISE Life Skills lessons on Dealing with anger violence and conflict view the ARISE Life Skills for Middle School – Violence and Conflict or get the whole ARISE Life Skills for Middle School Series:
]]>Children and teens who live in long-term foster care experience higher rates of behavioral and emotional problems compared with their peers who are reunited with their families or adopted, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
Youth in foster care have higher incidence of:
If you work with youth in foster care, you need to prepare them for when they age out of foster care and they are living on their own.
ARISE has decades of experience in providing age appropriate,
instantly usable life skills lessons that will last a lifetime.
How do you build a strong relationship with youth
Use ARISE life skills age-appropriate lessons to teach good communication skills:
“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.”
Nationally there are approximately 400,000 children in foster care on any given day, with nearly half (200,000) age 14 or older. Nearly 26,000 youth age out of foster care at age 18 each year. They are often angry and bewildered. They must use essential life skills to succeed on their own.
ARISE offers life-skills lessons that will help the at-risk youth in foster care and those that are aging out of foster care gain the skills to help them deal with life on their own.
View the following ARISE Specialized Curriculum Package for youth aging out of foster care: https://at-riskyouth.org/products/aging-out-of-foster-care
]]>Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly and efficiently. The teacher, counselor, or youth workers role in helping at-risk youth resolve conflicts is to listen. Listening empowers the youth to take ownership of the conflict.
The first step in resolving conflict is clarifying the source. Defining the cause of the conflict will enable youth to understand how the issue came to grow. You need to get both parties to agree what the disagreement is.
5 Strategies for Managing Conflict in a Classroom Setting
An important life skill that at-risk youth need is conflict resolution and managing anger. If you are a teacher, counselor, or juvenile justice professional consider ARISE Foundation’s evidenced based life skills curriculum that helps at-risk youth deal with anger and conflict in their life.
]]>Grit is defined as passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals. Grit is not talent nor luck. It is having a goal and working toward that goal. Not giving up. Angela Duckworth has popularized the concept of Grit. Grit is a life skill that can be learned. Angela Duckworth said: “Grit may not be sufficient for success, but it sure is necessary. If we want our children to have a shot at a productive and satisfying life, we adults should make it our concern to provide them with the two things all children deserve: challenges to exceed what they were able to do yesterday and the support that makes that growth possible.
Ways You Can Teach Grit
Angela Duckworth has a grit scale that can measure one’s grit level. Look at it and use it yourself or with the youth you work with. This scale is good for self-refection. There is allot of discussion that will come out of its use which will encourage the youth to reflect on how they feel and act.
At-risk youth may need help in setting goals and how to work toward achieving success. Some of ARISE life skills curriculum may be of help. We recommend the following life skill curriculum:
For High School aged Youth: https://at-riskyouth.org/collections/high-school-young-adults-learning-strategies
For Middle School aged Youth: https://at-riskyouth.org/collections/middle-school-learning-strategies
Download this ARISE Positivity Card and use it as a lesson with the at-risk youth you work with:
Suicides among young people is a serious problem. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children, adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years old. Since the beginning of COVID suicide has increased in at-risk teens and young adults.
The middle and high schoolers who attempt suicide have mental health issues such as depression.
Suicide can be linked to self-doubt, stress, uncertainty in their lives, disappointment, angry feelings, low self-esteem, bullying, feelings of hopelessness, access to and understanding the danger of firearms.
It is important in working with middle and high school aged youth that there are ways to openly communicate to them regarding the above issues.
The ARISE life skills curriculum for suicide prevention engage the youth in interactive group discussions where everyone’s opinion is appreciated. The ARISE life skills instructor training stresses the importance of group discussions where everyone learns from one another in a positive and encouraging environment. Teens and adolescents often feel uncomfortable talking about suicide. However, asking them whether they feel sad, lonely, depressed can be very helpful. It makes the youth feel that someone cares. It gives them an opportunity to share issues that bother them. If an instructor gains information from these discussions that lead them to believe the youth has suicidal thoughts, you can speak to your supervisor about getting help by a trained mental health professional for that youth.
According to John Hopkins Medicine a teen's risk for suicide varies with age, gender, and cultural and social influence. The following are risk factors for suicide:
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These young people in middle school have stress in their life. They may have negative thoughts or feelings about themselves. Their bodies are changing and that is stressful. They may have family problems such as separation or divorce of parents. They may have issues with their friends. Hanging with the wrong crowd can be stressful. Some may live in unsafe environments. They make take on too many activities. Others live in poverty, or their families are facing financial or medical problems. If they have to change schools, this can be a major stressor.
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1. Stress
These young people in middle school have stress in their life. They may have negative thoughts or feelings about themselves. Their bodies are changing and that is stressful. They may have family problems such as separation or divorce of parents. They may have issues with their friends. Hanging with the wrong crowd can be stressful. Some may live in unsafe environments. They make take on too many activities. Others live in poverty, or their families are facing financial or medical problems. If they have to change schools, this can be a major stressor.
2. Drinking and Drugs
Today about 21% of kids admit to drug use and 41% report drinking. Those who abuse drugs and alcohol demonstrate higher rates of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. About 30% of adolescent suicides are attributed to depression which is aggravated by drug or alcohol abuse.
3. Bullying
Middle school is the apex of the mean environment. Adolescents are anxious and they look for some sense of control. Putting someone down gives them a sense of power. They have not yet developed the part of the brain that helps them evaluate cause and effect. They don’t have the ability to recognize the damage you are causing to a person.
4. Self-Esteem
Middle school youth with positive self-esteem feel confident and capable. They value themselves, and their abilities. They are proud of the things they can do. When kids feel confident and secure about who they are, they get into less trouble and have a mindset toward growth.
5. Communication
It is a challenge to communicate with middle schoolers. Even if the youth does not communicate with you, talk to them as much as possible. They take time to be comfortable speaking but the more you speak to them, the easier it will become, and you are keeping the lines of communication opened. Model good listening skills-give them your undivided attention- no phone or iPad. Use good body language and talk about what body language is- middle school youth might not know too much about body language. Ask the middle schooler their opinions and listen to them.
6. Cyber addiction
This is an addiction where a person has a compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on electrical devices (computer, Phone, iPad or tablet. This can affect their relationships, school, or health. What you can do to help: Turn off push notifications, exit unused Apps, set up Tech-Free Zones, and put the phone in your pocket.
7. Dropping Out of School
Dropping out of school is a bad choice because dropouts are more likely to struggle throughout their adult lives. Data shows they earn significantly less money than those who stay in school and graduate high school and college. There is a direct correlation with lack of education and incarceration. Staying in school allows the youth to perfect basic skills needed to succeed in life.
8. Violence in Schools
In the last decade 284 kids were murdered due to school violence. Over the last 15 years, concerns regarding school violence has dramatically increased. Create healthy discussions and have the youth share their feelings and concern. Focus on reducing bullying.
9. Time Management
The pressure to succeed in every area of life and knowing how to manage time to do it all is a challenge. Effective time management allows youth to complete more in less time, because their attention is focused, and they are not wasting time. Efficient use of time reduces stress as students check off items from a to-do list.
10. Obesity
More youth at this age are obese. They spend more time in front of the TV, laptop, or phone. They need to learn about exercising and proper nutrition. Preventing obesity involves regular physical activity, a decrease in saturated fats, a decrease in sugar consumption, and an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption.
To explore these issues with the youth you work with visit the ARISE website:
https://at-riskyouth.org/collections/middle-school-life-skills-curriculum
]]>According to a study by the University of Michigan, if children start antisocial behavior in their early grades and continue into the teen years with serious aggression, this seems to predict arrests in early adulthood and psychiatric disorders such as depression and drug addiction.
WHAT CAUSES TROUBLED YOUTH
Lack of attachment to parents, low self-esteem, absence or negative influence of adults, lack of acceptance in a positive peer group.
SIGNS OF A TROUBLED TEEN
THE WORST NIGHTMARE IS WHEN A TROUBLED TEEN BECOMES A TROUBLED ADULT
When a teen struggling with behavior and emotional problems turns 18, there is not more parental control. They now have access to most of the rights and burdens of adulthood, but many have not been provided with the tools to handle these rights and burdens. If these 18-year-olds have emotional and behavioral issues, they begin a troubled adult life.
WAYS ADULTS CAN CONNECT AND EMPOWER TROUBLED TEENS TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE THE JOURNEY TO BECOMING ADULTS
Teach them life skills lessons appropriate for their age:
ARISE Life Skills Lessons & Curriculum
Head Start Programs promote school readiness for children from infants to preschool ages. The children eligible for Head Start are from low-income homes. Head Start Programs provide early learning and development including social and emotional skills, language skills, skills needed to provide healthy mental and physical development and skills that involve families in the learning and development of their child.
Head Start Programs deliver services through agencies that are run by non-profits organizations, schools and community-based organizations.
HISTORY OF HEAD START
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services “Head Start Programs have served more than 36 million children since 1965, growing from an eight-week demonstration project to include full-day/full-year services and many program options. Currently, Head Start grants are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Head Start Programs serve over 1 million children and their families each year in urban, suburban, and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories, including American Indian and Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal communities.”
WHAT DO CHILDREN WHO ARE READY FOR SCHOOL LOOK LIKE?
WHAT AGES ARE MOST CRITICAL IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT?
The most important years in a child's development are from birth to age five. Children's experiences and relationships that are formed during these years determine how their brain develops. In fact, by the time children reach age five, 90% of a child's brain is already developed.
Recent brain research indicates that birth to age three are the most important years in a child's development.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN'S NEEDS ARE NOT MET?
Unmet needs can lead to feelings that we consider negative–anger, confusion, disappointment, frustration, hopelessness, irritation, sadness, loneliness, and embarrassment, to name only a few.
ARISE preschool life skills curriculum can be utilized by Head Start Programs to improve school readiness by emphasizing social and emotional skills and providing healthy mental and physical development.
]]>Those who work with at-risk youth know that these children are confronting a range of challenges most young people couldn’t even imagine. But appreciating the difficulties kids in foster care and those who come from broken homes doesn’t necessarily translate to providing the help they need. Understanding aids and barriers to communicating with at-risk youth is the first step toward providing meaningful assistance. These “dos” can help with communication, while the following “don’ts” could stand as barriers.
Listening involves much more than just waiting for your turn to speak. Young people will shut down and refuse to open up to you if they don’t feel heard. Move away from any devices or books to give them your full attention and adopt open body language. Uncross your arms, look the young person in the eye, and avoid judgmental signals like sighs and eye-rolling (yes, they’ll do that to you, but just let it go). If you truly take the time to listen and provide the space and safe environment for a child or teen to tell you what’s on their mind, you might learn a lot you didn’t previously know about what’s bothering them.
The quickest way to lose a young person’s attention is to start nagging, lecturing, or offering unsolicited advice. When a child or teenager has communicated their worries, mistakes, or actions to you, respond in a way that indicates you’ve heard what they said. Don’t immediately judge their thoughts and actions.
Sympathize and ask the young person how they feel about what they’ve shared with you. Ask what they think you could do to help. Rather than making “you should” statements (“you should study harder” or “you should stay away from that boy”), try using “I” statements to present suggestions, like “I know someone who tried this solution—what do you think?”
Schedules, limits on screen time, and restrictions on where youths can go are all rules based on good reasons. Share those reasons with the children subject to the rules. If at-risk kids believe you put rules in place because you care about them and want them to be safe, they’re much more likely to share information with you than if you simply stamp your foot and say, “because I said so.”
The goal of raising a child is to enable that child to someday survive and thrive without you. Helping at-risk youth achieve independence, learn responsibility, and grow to become contributing members of society is a complex undertaking. You must offer them opportunities to make decisions and own the consequences of those choices.
Aids and barriers to communicating with at-risk youth present themselves in everyday situations. Choose your battles wisely. It’s one thing to insist that a young person be mindful of their safety and another to constantly nag them.
Teaching responsibility, compromise, and communication should start early. ARISE Foundation provides elementary life skills curriculum materials that help teachers, social workers, and counselors teach children positive self-advocacy, respectful communication, conflict resolution, and anger management skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.
]]>Between raging hormones, sketchy friends, and the defiance that comes with yearning to be more independent from their parents, teenagers could learn from the patience of Job. Here are 10 ways parents can help their at-risk teens.
Teen brains are still developing and aren’t fully formed until young people reach their 20s. That means parents are dealing with young people who want very badly to make independent choices but may not be intellectually and emotionally equipped to safely do so.
Pile hormonal changes on top of rapid brain changes, and you get a volatile mix that can frustrate parents as teens behave impulsively and seem to push back on everything.
This behavior is normal for most teens. But there are some behaviors that indicate something more serious than growing pains is going on. These include:
These worrisome behaviors indicate that parents should seek professional help for their teens, and perhaps for the family as a whole. However, there are things parents can do to help an adolescent teetering on the edge of making serious mistakes. Here are 10 ways parents can help their at-risk teen.
Parents can easily fall into the trap of giving advice before they’ve even heard the problem. Teenagers want to be heard, not judged. Several times a week, sit down with your teen and offer your undivided attention. Teens are sensitive and quick to assume that no one understands.
Ask open-ended questions like, “tell me more about how you feel about that” (or what, or why, you think about that) instead of jumping straight to “this will pass” or “it’s just a phase you’re going through.” It doesn’t feel like a phase to a teen—whatever is bothering them is very real and possibly truly painful.
Teens will try on many different looks as they grow and try to find their place in the complex and often excruciating social hierarchies of high school. Before you jump down their throat about their wardrobe and adornment choices, ask yourself, “Is it actually hurting them? Is it dangerous?”
A new hair color, some dark eyeliner, or a pair of ripped jeans isn’t likely to cause severe peril. Stick to the more alarming changes that may have consequences that teens don’t consider—like the fact that tattoos are permanent.
Having high expectations for a teen is a way of telling them that you believe in their abilities. Just remember that your expectations are for your teen, not for you. Help your teen establish goals that relate to what they actually want to accomplish, and accept that those goals might be, “I want to make the tennis team” rather than “I want to win every tournament I ever play.” Or maybe their goal is “I want to go to a college with a great videography program,” despite the fact that your goal for them is “You must get into an Ivy League school and become a lawyer.”
Other expectations are more mundane: show up to dinner on time, no phones at the table, get your homework done before you spend hours playing video games.
Establishing boundaries is the other half of setting expectations. Impose consequences consistently if your teen fails to follow the rules by not coming home by curfew on a weekend night, showing up to dinner late, playing video games before finishing their homework, or failing to help with chores around the house. Be willing to listen to explanations, but don’t be a pushover.
A request for an extra $20 for a night out with friends or a lift to a sporting event or performance isn’t a lot for your teen to ask. But if they want you to drive them to a club to hear a band play on a school night, despite the fact that the performance won’t be done until 1 a.m., it’s not unreasonable to say no.
Show your teen that you trust them to make good choices. Assume the best from them. If they disappoint you, have a frank talk with them about the impact on you and your ability to trust them. Listen to explanations, but don’t back down on consequences.
Unless you have a strong suspicion that something harmful or illegal is going on, respect your teen’s privacy. Don’t snoop on their cellphone or try to read their emails. Teens learn by example, so if you snoop on them, they may get the message that it’s okay to do the same to others, including you.
Your teen should keep you informed of where they’re going, who they’re going with, what they plan to do, and when they’ll be home. Don’t get into the minutiae unless they violate the trust you’ve placed in them. If you discover they’ve lied, impose pre-established consequences like cutting off cellphone or internet use or impounding their car keys for a specified time.
Most of what you suggest in the way of shared activities may elicit an eye roll, but give it a shot. Your teen may surprise you. Or reverse the situation and surprise your child by learning everything you can about their favorite video game, film director, or band.
Don’t make a big deal of it, but do let your teen know that you’d love to spend some time with them. It’s normal for teenagers to prefer their friends to their parents, but somewhere inside them, there is still a kid who craves parental attention.
Nothing is more discouraging to a teenager than the feeling that they’re never going to be good enough. Make sure they know that you are proud of them and praise them for the things they do well rather than harping on failures.
Seek mentors other than yourself for your teen. This person could be a coach, music instructor, job supervisor, favorite uncle, or another trusted adult who has skills or wisdom that can be useful to your teen. However, be very alert to any signs that your teen dislikes spending time with other adults. Make sure they feel free to talk to you immediately if another adult does make them uncomfortable.
Finally, if your teenager is showing signs of real distress in the form of violent outbursts, isolation, addiction, self-harm, or eating disorders, get professional help from a licensed mental health professional.
If you’re a teacher, counselor, or juvenile justice professional, consider ARISE Foundation’s evidence-based life skills curriculum, which provides evidence-based lessons and activities that help at-risk teens gain the behavioral skills necessary to a successful life.
]]>After-school programs provide a much-needed safe space for children and adolescents and opportunities for them to engage in positive activities. These programs, however, do much more. Here are some of the benefits of participating in after-school programs.
After-school programs give youth a sense of community and structure. By participating in something beyond the regular school day in a familiar, safe, and supportive environment, youth from elementary through high school levels develop positive relationships with peers and with caring adults. From there, they build teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and communication skills.
Participating in fun and engaging activities through after-school programs can help improve academic performance. These programs reduce the amount of time youths spend unsupervised and provide them with opportunities to learn new skills. These programs can also offer structured learning opportunities for youth who are at risk of falling behind academically.
Young people are like sponges—they soak up everything around them. This can be a great thing when it comes to learning new things, but it’s not so great when they’re exposed to negative influences. After-school programs expose kids to positive adult role models who can help students develop self-discipline, a sense of responsibility, and positive behaviors.
Participating in after-school programs can have a positive impact on the physical and emotional health of children and adolescents. These programs can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, promote healthy eating habits, and encourage physical activity.
The benefits of participating in after-school programs are clear. ARISE Foundation helps by providing age-appropriate life skills curriculum materials for educators, social workers, and juvenile justice staff. Our high school life skills curriculum addresses communication, interpersonal, and anger management skills.
ARISE believes that all children have the potential to be successful. Our curriculum is designed to help at-risk youth reach their full potential. ARISE provides training and support to staff, teachers, and youth caretakers to help them implement engaging, high-quality programs that will meet the needs of every student and improve their lives one day at a time.
]]>Parents, counselors, social workers, juvenile justice staff members, and other adults who care about making life better for at-risk youth need strategies that work. Whether you’re a coach, teacher, mental health professional, or employee in an organization devoted to helping troubled kids, these five tips for helping and empowering at-risk youth may help you find greater success.
Possessing the quality known as grit, which is a combination of perseverance, determination, effort, courage, and belief in a growth mindset, can make a difference in a child’s life.
People with a growth mindset believe they can improve and build upon their skills and talents. A growth mindset allows you to believe things can get better, which makes the effort worthwhile—you can get stronger, your grades can improve, you can learn to play the guitar. The quality of grit allows kids to recover from setbacks and keep going.
Adults who support at-risk youth can help by elevating effort over outcome. In other words, praise the hard work that went into earning a C+ instead of making a young person feel inadequate because they didn’t earn a higher grade. Awards are less important than what you learn while striving for them.
At-risk minors feel a strong sense of insecurity, making it hard for them to believe anyone really cares. If you’ve shuffled through multiple foster homes, watched a parent fail at rehab, or lost friends and family to violence, nothing seems likely to go your way.
Adults who want to empower at-risk youth can help by creating environments where kids feel safe and free from abuse, violence, and abandonment. It’s critically important not to make promises you can’t keep. Be honest about the support you can provide, but don’t create expectations you can’t fulfill.
Youth gain confidence when they are connected to adults who can foster their interests. After-school programs, whether focused on sports, arts, or skilled trades, can empower kids to work hard to pursue their true interests. Classes that teach a life skills course curriculum may also help at-risk kids gain the knowledge they need.
An at-risk youth may have never had a role model to demonstrate how to manage anger or resolve conflict through compromise. Arise Foundation offers a life skills course curriculum geared toward at-risk youth. Youth will learn how to respond to anger in socially acceptable ways and resolve disputes without violence.
Involvement in sports, the arts, or volunteering makes at-risk youth feel valued. These activities help them realize that their time and talents matter. They see how they can make a positive difference in the world. Providing youth with outlets like the opportunity to write, paint, play, or help others can build self-esteem. When the world has treated you as disposable, self-esteem is hard-won but worth the effort in a quest to build a better life.
]]>While stress and anxiety are related, they’re not the same. Here’s how to know the difference between stress and anxiety, plus some tips on what to do when you identify what you’re experiencing.
Both stress and anxiety can manifest themselves in similar physical symptoms. These may include insomnia, irritability, muscle aches, stomach troubles, and fatigue. Severe symptoms may include significant weight gain or loss, or even heart disease. Stress and anxiety may generate a fight or flight reaction, raising levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which signals the body to release glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream, and adrenaline, which raises heart rate and blood pressure.
Under ordinary circumstances, hormone levels should return to normal when the external trigger passes. But constant stress keeps this response switched on. That can cause serious health problems, such as insulin resistance, as the body tries to keep up with cleaning out all that extra glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin resistance can lead to weight gain and even full-blown diabetes.
Although stress and anxiety may generate similar symptoms, the source of these symptoms differs. The source of the former is external, while the trigger for the latter is internal.
Everyone experiences stress from time to time, but some people are trapped in circumstances that are constantly stressful, which affects their health more severely.
External factors generate stress. This stress can arise from sudden changes in circumstances, seemingly impossible demands, or real or perceived threats to a person’s well-being. For example, job deadlines or relationship problems, financial concerns, or frightening events such as car accidents can all generate stress. Stress can be a short-term problem that resolves when the stressor departs or a chronic reaction to intractable problems such as poverty, discrimination, disability, or abuse. Post-traumatic stress disorder can haunt its sufferers for years following wars, violent attacks, or childhood abuse.
By contrast, excessive worries that persist even when there is no immediate stressor present define anxiety. Unlike stress, which people experience in reaction to external triggers, persistent anxiety is defined as a mental illness, an internal problem. Anxiety is a reaction to stress, but it sticks around even in non-threatening circumstances.
Anxiety disorders are common. According to the American Psychological Association, 31 percent of Americans will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
Learning how to know the difference between stress and anxiety is important so that you can choose the proper response to address what you’re experiencing.
It’s possible to manage stress with tactics like deep breathing, meditation, exercise, dietary improvements, and better sleep habits. Stress should ease when you finish that big project, resolve an argument with your spouse, or find your lost phone. If it doesn’t, you may be experiencing anxiety, or you may need to consult a medical professional for a physical exam and help with identifying other coping strategies.
Managing anxiety requires a medical mental health approach. Anxiety is an excessive reaction to stress. While everyone who has lost a loved one, broken up with a partner, or faced a major final exam experiences stress, a person suffering from anxiety has an obviously outsized reaction.
Moreover, most people who are stressed can keep going, working their way through it. Anxiety, however, can be so bad that it makes it impossible to function normally. People suffering from severe anxiety may be so consumed by worry that they are unable to perform normal daily activities or meet minimum expectations at their job.
Complicating matters, anxiety may include worries about things that haven’t even happened yet or things that don’t exist, like a monster under the bed. Even though there’s nothing going on that should be causing stress, an anxious person suffers near-constant feelings of dread or apprehension.
Generalized anxiety disorder is the most commonly diagnosed form that this mental illness can take. Diagnostic manuals describe it as excessive worries that occur more often than not over a period of at least six months. The depth of the feelings of worry or apprehension are substantially out of proportion to actual circumstances.
Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include feeling on edge or restless, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, fatigue, and difficulty controlling feelings of worry. Other common anxiety disorders include:
For example, a person may have persistent intrusive worries about germs, and they react to those thoughts with excessive handwashing. A person suffering from OCD finds temporary relief by engaging in compulsive, ritualistic behavior, such as cleaning, counting, checking on things (Did I lock the door? Did I turn the iron off?) to make the thoughts go away. A person with OCD becomes more anxious if they can’t perform these rituals.
These symptoms of anxiety disorders require professional intervention from a licensed mental health provider. When stress is the issue, Arise Foundation offers an evidence-based life skills curriculum for adults that address issues such as stress management, anger, and conflict. Contact us to learn more about how our curriculum materials can help adults learn coping skills.
]]>Low self-esteem gets children in trouble. Use these tips for building self-esteem in at-risk youth to help them build better lives starting in kindergarten.
]]>At-risk youth face a steep climb to becoming valued members of society. Feelings of low self-worth contribute to young people’s tendency to get in trouble. Here are some tips for building self-esteem in at-risk youth.
Unfortunately, many at-risk youth come from homes where parenting skills were lacking. Unhappy childhoods wherein parents—or other significant adults such as teachers—focus on criticizing the child rather than supporting them. This can destroy their budding sense of self-worth. A child who feels they’ll never be good enough doesn’t have much motivation to try to do well—at school or in life.
While children and teens give off signals that they’re not doing well, you may not recognize the problem as low self-esteem at first. Signs of low self-esteem include:
Some helpful tips for building self-esteem in at-risk youth include the following:
Self-esteem is important because it builds self-confidence. Self-confidence helps at-risk youth and teens stand up for themselves, and refuse peer pressure to engage in negative activities. The Arise Foundation provides character development lesson plans for elementary through high school students. Teachers, youth workers, and juvenile justice officials can use our curricula to build skills to help at-risk youth develop better self-esteem. Contact us today for help in selecting the curriculum that best suits the ages of the at-risk youths you work with.
]]>Many people become interested in careers for helping at-risk kids and teens because of their own life experiences. Others simply want the best for all kids and teens, so they go into fields that provide services to at-risk children and youth. If making life better for at-risk kids inspires you, consider studying to enter one of these helping professions. Each requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and some may require a graduate degree or a set number of hours of training or apprenticeship.
At-risk youth need helpful and supportive adults that truly believe in them. They need people who are honest with them and can help them navigate the world. At-risk youth are less likely to transition successfully into adulthood. Success for them includes both academic success and job readiness, as well as the ability to become a positive member of society by avoiding a life of crime.
In any of these careers for helping at-risk kids and teens, you can help young people build life skills, develop healthy relationships, and make better decisions. You would dedicate part of your life to helping vulnerable young people. Over the course of a career in at-risk child and teen services, you can help change thousands of lives for the better.
When you earn your degree and enter one of the above-listed helping professions, your education will have just begun. You will learn from the at-risk children and youth you work with, and they may often confound you. If you want to enhance your skills as you work with at-risk youth, contact ARISE Foundation and find out about their life skills curriculum packages and the online training for people who work with at-risk youth.
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